Developments in offshore wind turbines

Simon Hogg, Executive Director of the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, in an article on The Conversation website, questions whether there is a limit to how big wind turbines can get. Wind turbines are already skyscraper-sized – is there any limit to how big they will get? In 2023, some 100 miles off the coast … Continue reading Developments in offshore wind turbines →

Less toxic, super-high capacity and ultra-long life battery developed in Australia

The sodium-sulphur batteries are far less toxic as they are made from sea water. Anthony Cuthbertson discusses latest developments in an article on The Independent website. Breakthrough battery holds 4x charge of smartphone batteries at fraction of the cost Researchers have created a new type of battery that holds four times the amount of … Continue reading Less toxic, super-high capacity and ultra-long life battery developed in Australia →

Solar panels can be made better and cheaper

Renate Egan, Professor, Australian Centre of Advanced Photovoltaics at UNSW Sydney writes on The Conversation website about Australian research underway to cut costs even further and generate the most electricity possible out of incoming sunlight. What are your views? You might think solar panels have been perfected – but we can still make them … Continue reading Solar panels can be made better and cheaper →

US government researchers have found a way to charge electric car batteries up to 90 percent in just 10 minutes

Once perfected, a new method could charge an electric vehicle’s battery 90 percent within ten minutes, solving an issue sceptics have long had about electric vehicles. Will Pavia discusses latest developments in an article on The Times website. Fully charge your electric car in less than ten minutes Electric cars could be recharged almost … Continue reading US government researchers have found a way to charge electric car batteries up to 90 percent in just 10 minutes →

New enzyme invented that breaks down plastic waste in hours

The new recycling process could revolutionise how big industry reuses materials according to an article by Jane Dalton on The Independent website. Scientists invent enzyme that can break down plastic waste in ‘hours instead of centuries’ Scientists have invented an enzyme variant they say can break down plastic waste in just hours or days … Continue reading New enzyme invented that breaks down plastic waste in hours →

Researchers have invented a desalination device that can turn seawater into drinking water at the push of a button

New technology can zap salt water to ensure good quality and do it almost instantaneously. Anthony Cuthbertson discusses the new innovation in an article on The Independent website. New invention turns seawater into drinking water at the push of a button Researchers have invented a desalination device that can turn seawater into drinking water … Continue reading Researchers have invented a desalination device that can turn seawater into drinking water at the push of a button →

Swedish and Japanese universities make advancement in the development of computers that can work as energy efficiently as a brain

development of computers that can work as energy efficiently as human brains. The “breakthrough” moment for UoG and partner Tohoko University transpired after a sustained period of research and significant funding by state agencies in Sweden and Japan over the period 2019 to 2021. Gothenburg University makes breakthrough in energy efficient computers The University … Continue reading Swedish and Japanese universities make advancement in the development of computers that can work as energy efficiently as a brain →

Scientists have developed a prototype window that can harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer

A prototype window with switchable absorption properties, so that it can be set to harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer, has recently been developed. The window relies on a film just 12 nanometres thick, containing a material that changes its state when heated up to high temperatures, using a transparent … Continue reading Scientists have developed a prototype window that can harvest heat in the winter and reflect it in the summer →

New smart glass innovations for improving energy performance of buildings

Tim Radford writes on the Energy Mix website about research from both Singapore and the US that hold promise for important efficiency improvements. The author writes that each “is yet more testimony to the explosion of inventive thinking and technical ingenuity on show in the world’s laboratories and universities, as researchers seek new ways to … Continue reading New smart glass innovations for improving energy performance of buildings →

Rethinking cement

The production of cement, the binding element in concrete, accounted for 7% of total global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018. Given the scale of the industry and its greenhouse gas emissions, technologies that can reinvent concrete could have profound impacts on climate change. At the University of Michigan, we are working on composites that produce … Continue reading Rethinking cement →